A Series of Strange Oneshots
by Jaelin Alexandria
Summary: (My first) Series of Stranger Things oneshots. Rated T just in case.
1. Peppermint Jim

The smell of peppermint filled the air as the young boy was walking his pet reindeer through the fields of red and white, which was pretty vacant, as far as one could tell. Stopping, the young boy smelled the minty air, as his reindeer was looking around.

"What do you think Eggo, do you think that these canes of sucrose are edible? I mean they are growing from the ground so there might be chemicals in them that aren't in the ones boxed in stores," The young boy asked the reindeer next to him. Before they started moving again, they heard a small rustle in the group of candy canes next to them. "What the-"

"Who goes there?!" A voice growled out. Sharing a look with Eggo, the young boy slowly approached the group of candy canes, just as an elf that was only millimeters tall emerged from the red and white brush.

"Holy shit, you're so tiny, I might need a microscope to see you!" cried the young boy in laughter. "Fuck!" He shouted as a dull pain started at the bottom of his feet. "Did you just bite me you oligosaccharide?"

"You didn't answer my question, surprisingly intelligent creature. Who are you?"

"I'm Jim, who are you?"

"I'm Mike, the elf who protects these candy cane fields. I overheard you talking about eating one of these candy canes. But do you really want to do that?" the elf questioned in response.

"I'm lactose intolerant, so this is the only holiday candy I can really have. So yes. I do want to eat the candy canes," Jim responded.

"But they are bad for your lungs!"

"Wait...what? What are you talking about?" Suddenly, Eggo got excited and started running further up the path, interrupting Mike's response before it even began. "Eggo! Wait! Come back!" Jim went running after the reindeer, leaving the elf behind, who was muttering obscenities about reindeers trampling his candy canes before disappearing within the red and white, peppermint fields. Meanwhile, Jim was still chasing his reindeer through the fields when suddenly, Eggo stopped. When he finally caught up to him, Jim noticed that the reindeer was panting like a dog, his tail wagging happily. Jim furrowed his eyebrows and looked where Eggo was looking. He noticed another figure further up the path, one that Eggo seemed to recognize.

"Hey! Who are you?" The figure turned around, and suddenly, Jim wasn't a young boy anymore. He was old enough to be a dad to a teenager, his clean jaw now had a stubble accompanied by the mustache just above his lip and he was dressed in what looked like a police uniform.

"...Dad?!" The figure had furrowed her eyebrows, and when Jim finally looked into her eyes, he found that her chocolate brown eyes were familiar.

"El?" He whispered as memories of battles against otherworldly creatures and the things in between rushed back to his mind.

"Dad!" The small girl exclaimed, running up to him and jumping into his arms, which wrapped around her small frame protectively as they both relished in the fact that they were both here and alive.

"El, where are we?" He asked his adoptive daughter. She looked around, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I…don't know."

"Then how do we get out of here?" He muttered, more to himself before he remembered something, "Wait...what happened with Starcourt? Did we win?"

"Yes. But. We…lost you and Billy," El claimed, looking down. Now he remembered, he told Joyce to hit the kill switch to the machine, which supposedly killed him. So if he's dead, then how is he talking to his daughter? It doesn't make any sense.

"So, I'm supposed to be dead?"

"...yes."

"Then how am I here?" At this, El furrowed her eyebrows, again, gaining the same sense of confusion that he had.

"I…don't…know," she hesitantly claimed, looking around at the fields of red and white peppermint, almost as if El was hoping they would give her the answer if she visually studied them. Taking a moment, Jim looked around himself, taking a moment to make a mental analysis of what he experienced in the bright, polychrome, world.

"This almost seems like a dream. There is an elf and a reindeer here, and as far as I'm aware, those don't exist," Jim told his adoptive daughter. She turned back to him, raising an eyebrow.

"What's…an elf…and a reindeer?" El asked him, and Jim mentally smacked himself for forgetting she wouldn't know what those are.

"A reindeer is a deer of the tundra and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America. Most of them are domesticated and are used for pulling sleds. One famous reindeer is Rudolph, who's nose shown red into the night, and pulled Santa Claus's sleigh. And an elf is tiny folk tale creatures with pointed ears and magical powers," Jim quickly explained. Suddenly, the world faded as a spell of smoke, reforming the world into a monochrome of black, the ground becoming a layer of water.

"What in the world?!"


	2. Once Upon a Time

_"Once upon a time". What kind of opening is that? Is this some fairytale? I thought it was real life. I mean, I guess I do have superpowers that accidentally opened a gate to another dimension, one full of otherworldly creatures. They would seem like they were from one of the stories in Grimm's Fairy Tales. They could also seem like they were a coping mechanism for grieving loss, which I've met plenty of in my young life. However, the fact is this, that's my reality. Fighting off monsters from another world, one that is parallel to us, that is dark and empty._

"El!" An excited voice called. The girl in question snapped out of her thoughts, putting down the pencil in her hand, and turning her attention to the door, where the voice came from. Her eyes widened and her mouth spread into a giant smile at the sight of her boyfriend in the door frame.

"Mike!" She cried, jumping out of her seat at the desk in her bedroom. El ran into his open arms, throwing hers around his neck, as he enclosed his around her waist, holding her close to him.

"God, I missed you," Mike murmured into her ear and El hummed in agreement. They pulled away briefly, so Mike could enter her room and El could close her bedroom door to keep her adoptive mother and brothers from peeping in. She turned around and brought her hands to Mike's hair, pulling his head down so she could reach his lips easier. Mike's hands found their way to her hips, as he allowed himself to be pulled into a blissful, yet quick kiss. Then El pulled away and headed over to where her bed was, pausing at her desk to close the journal she was originally writing in. She sat down on the bed and gestured for Mike to sit down next to her.

"So, how have you been?" She asked, grasping his hands.

"I've been...good," Mike claimed sheepishly. However, El caught onto his lie. He could see when he did as her eyebrow raises, and he sighed. "I've been, as Dustin, Lucas, and Max say dark grey."

"Dark grey?"

"You know how black can be used with angry and negative, while white is used with happy and positive?" He asked her. He continued when he saw her nod. "Well, grey is neutral, as in neither white or black. Dark grey is neutral, but a bit more on the angry side," Mike explained.

"So, you're neutral but angry?" Mike chuckled.

"I guess. I've been lashing out at the smallest things. Been getting into trouble and detention at school."

"Why?" El asked. Mike pulled her onto his lap, and into his arms, holding her tight while nuzzling his nose against her neck.

"Because I missed you. Both times you left, I've been dark grey. I feel like I can't breathe if you're not with me," He answered as El wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.

"I feel the same. Mike, I love you," She told him, whispering into his ear, as her hand found it's way into his hair, playing with the dark strands.

"I love you so much, El," He sighed in response, closing his eyes and letting the ministrations she was doing with her hand in his hair soothing him.

_An emptiness that one person can be rescued from. A dark world one can escape if they knew how. My family, my friends, all know what to look for in this dark and empty world. The light shining through the slimy, reddish-orange gate. The light brings us to the world we live in, the one where superpowers are just a fantasy. But like every fantasized fairy tale, there is someone in distress. Usually, it's the princess rescued, saved by the prince who is destined to be her true love. While my prince is destined to be my true love, it's me, the princess, who slays the monster and saves the kingdom._


	3. IT's a little Strange (1987) - Part 1

**A/N: So, I've had this one has been** **in my head for a while now.**

**What if the Byer's moved to Derry and El got caught up in the mayhem with It? What if her powers came back while they were down in the sewers? El is a Loser in this. All of the Losers are 16.**

**Basically, crossover time! It's a long one and its in 3 parts.**

* * *

"I told you, Bill. I fucking told you, I don't want to die... It's your fault. You punched me in the face, you made me walk through shitty water, you brought me to a fucking crackhead-house. And now... I'm gonna have to kill this fucking clown! Welcome to the losers club, asshole!" El gasped as Richie, the boy who looked like her Mike, pulled a bat out of the pile of things that belonged to the floating children above and swung at the clown, who growled in return, letting go of their friend and leader. She was more than ready when the clown went after Mike Hanlon and the rest of the Losers. They all screamed, shouting different things while beating up the thing from outer space. After spitting the fence post out of Its mouth, It's attention turned toward her, in one last attempt to scare them, which developed into Brenner. Instead of making her afraid, however, it made her angry and disgusted, the sight of her old_ papa_.

"You're sick Eleven, I'm going to take you home and make you well. Stop the festering within you. Do you remember what that means, Eleven? Festering?" It asked. She screamed and flung her hand out instinctively, flinging the clown, who turned back to the figure, back against the pipe entrance that was sticking out of the sewer flooring, surprising them all.

"Holy shit!" came out of Richie's mouth in surprise. El let go of It, who was too afraid to do anything more than stay where it was at, perched against the pipe entrance behind it.

"That's why you didn't kill Beverly, Cause s-s-s-s-she wasn't afraid and we aren't either, not anymore. Now you're the one that's afraid because you're gonna starve," Bill stated to the outer-worldly creature. It flung itself back into the pipe, holding on to the edge as it starts to mutter Bill's vocal exercise.

"He thrusts his hands against the post...and still insists he sees the ghost. He thrusts his hands against the p-p-p-p-post." It starts to disappear with the end of its last hope, with one final word that will haunt the Loser's dreams forever, It falls into a deep, 27 years long, sleep. "Fear."

_**Timeskip ~**_

A week later, in the middle of August, you could find the Losers sitting in a circle in the Barrens, finally able to discuss the elephant in all of their conversations during the past week.

"I'm sorry can we discuss how El has been hiding the fact that she has superpowers?" Richie exclaimed in question, the eyes of all the Loser's turning to the quiet one in the group, who just looked surprised at the attention.

"Uh, I've had them all my life," El claimed.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Ben asked.

"And what didn't you use them at the beginning of the summer when Eddie's arm was broken?" Stan added.

"If I told you about them at the beginning of the summer you wouldn't have believed me because I wouldn't have been able to prove it. They have been dormant since '85, and they literally just _rewoke_ while we were down in the sewers," El explained.

"Beverly, w-wh-what ha-happened while you were in t-the d-d-deadl-l-lights?" Bill asked, his stutter expressing his nervousness at asking such a deep question. The Loser's all faced their redheaded friend as she began to explain her experience.

"I only remember parts, but... I thought I was dead. That's what it felt like. I saw us, saw us together, back in the cistern, but we were older... I mean our parents' ages."

"W-w-w-what were we all doing there?" Bill asked, the question on all of the Loser's minds.

"I just remembered how we felt, how scared we were, I don't think I can ever forget that," Beverly answered, El rubbing her back in comfort. They watched as Bill got up and grabbed a piece of broken glass from the ground, and walk back to where he was in the first place, next to Richie, but still standing.

"Swear, swear if IT isn't dead, if IT ever comes back, we'll come back too," Bill pleaded. They all stood up, and their leader went around cutting everyone's left hand. Once done, they all joined hands in a blood pact. They stayed that way, silently for almost a minute before the silence was broken.

"I hate you," Stan stated, as seriously as he could, before they all broke out amused smiles and chuckles filled the air. "I'll see you all later."

"Bye Stan!"

One by one, the loser's left until there was El, Bill, Beverly, and Ben still there. El finally got up to leave, giving Beverly a quick hug, before turning to make her way back to the main street. Once El got to her bike, mounted, and began her journey home, her mind slipped to her Party, the group of friends she wouldn't trade the world for, the family she loved. Then her thoughts drifted her group of Losers. Ultimately, when she tried to, El decided that she couldn't pick, that she could have two groups of friends. There wasn't a rule against that, as far as she was aware. If there was one, it would be hard to choose, and the Loser's became her second family that summer. As she pulled into her street, she noticed a familiar station wagon in the driveway. That's when she remembered that she had been staying with Beverly the past week after the sewer incident, and never mentioned a thing to Joyce or the boys.

"Shit," She cursed quietly, realizing what those from Hawkins might be doing here. It was either already planned or a last-minute thing after Joyce realized she wasn't at home the morning after the sewer thing. Gulping, El parked her bike on the side of the house next to Will's and made her way to the front door. When she opened it, she was greeted by silence, and worried, confused, concerned, looks.

"Hi," El greeted sheepishly.

"Hi? HI? Where were you? Why didn't you call?" Joyce questioned.

"Was it not in the news?" El asked, curiously.

"What wasn't in the news?" Mike asked, voice cracking in worry, as he got up and approached her. Her heart shattered as his voice sounded so heartbroken.

"Bev's dad died. I was trying to comfort her and get her mind off of it," El explained. Her attention returned to her foster mother as a gasp from Joyce lead her to believe that she had either not checked the news, or it hadn't made the news yet.

"Oh, that poor girl! Is she okay?" Joyce asked in concern.

"She's doing better than she was the day of," El claimed. Mike finally reached her and pulled her into a hug. She did her best to hug him while trying to keep her hands from bloodying up his shirt.

"Oh my god! What the hell happened to your hand, El?" Max cried, noticing the blood. Mike pulled away at that, to see what Max was talking about, as his girlfriend let out a curse word. Surprising everyone except the Byers.

"Oh, that's her latest development. El started cursing this summer. I don't know where from though," Will claimed.

"Not important right now," Mike dismissed, "Quoting Max, 'what the hell happened to your hand, El?'"

"Cut it on glass," El claimed. Mike shook his head, and lead her to the bathroom, determined

"Was it one of Alvin's bottles?" Johnathan called out to his little sister before continuing more quieter to himself, "That damn man never deserved to have a daughter as wonderful as Beverly," Then he looked around the room at the surprised looks on everyone's faces. "What?"

"That was the darkest thing I've heard come out of your mouth, John," Nancy claimed.


	4. IT's a little Strange (1987) - Part 2

**A/N: **What if the Byer's moved to Derry and El got caught up in the mayhem with It? What if her powers came back while they were down in the sewers? El is a Loser in this. All of the Losers are 16.

* * *

"Does that hurt?" Mike asked his girlfriend, who was now perched on the bathroom counter.

"It stings a little," El claimed. Mike had put disinfectant on her hand, cleaning out the wound. He reached into the first aid and grabbed a bandage roll and started wrapping her hand. El found herself watching him. Mike's eyebrows furrowed in concentration, his chocolate brown eyes still holding the worry from before, but it was overshadowed with relief, love, and determination. The determination disappeared after Mike finished carefully dressing her wound. After he put everything away, he placed himself between her two legs and bringing her bandaged hand to his lips.

"Now it'll feel better," Mike claimed, earning a giggle from his beautiful girlfriend, grinning widely in return. Unable, and unwilling, to stop herself, El leaned forward and kissed him square on his lips, her lids fluttering closed over her own brown orbs. Mike returned the kiss immediately, his own eyes closing, and placing his hands on her waist, while her hands found their way behind his neck and into his dark hair. After what felt like a minute, El pulled back, needing air.

"We should probably get back out there," El stated.

"Yeah, probably. We need to properly interrogate you for where you disappeared to," Mike agreed. El's eyes furrowed.

"I told you, I was with Beverly to help her mourn with her dad dying." Suddenly, the phone rang, and the two jumped.

"Jane it's for you! A guy named Richie Tozier is asking for you!" Joyce called. It was Mike's turn to furrow his eyebrows in confusion, while hers went up to her hairline in surprise. Reaching over, El grabbed the bathroom phone, yes there is a phone in the bathroom. The government gave the house to the Byers because they wanted to apologize for everything they put their family through with the Upside Down and El's childhood. El brought the phone up to her ear, while Mike was watching her.

"Richie?" She asked, eyes locked with her boyfriend.

_"Hey Ellie Bean, so I was hoping to meet you at the Kissing Bridge."_ El waited for him to realize what he said and how that sounded, and the curse that came out of his mouth told her when he realized it. _"Not like that. You know I'm gay for Eddie, and Bev's my wife."_

"Uh...I resent that. Bev is my wife, you can't have any claim over her," El joked, earning a laugh on the other end of the receiver. Mike raised an eyebrow in question, which El noticed as she was still looking at him, and she mouthed 'later' in response.

_"Anyway, can you meet me at the Kissing Bridge, I need to get away from home. Maggie and Wentworth are drunk and they saw the cut, and I don't think I need to paint the rest of the picture,"_ Richie explained, sounding more serious than El had ever heard him.

"Why me?"

_"To be honest, I called Eddie first, then Bill, then Stan, and you're my fourth choice. Eddie's mom picked up the phone, Bill wasn't home yet, and Stan's dad told me that Stan the Man was busy,"_ Richie responded.

"I'll have to check if I can meet you. I forgot to call my mom last week, and she freaked out. Now I have a house full of my friends from Hawkins, as well as my boyfriend," El claimed, winking at Mike, who in return just smiled.

_"You're boyfriend's here? Well, you can't hide him away from the Losers! I absolutely have to meet him,"_ Richie exclaimed, causing El to laugh.

"Well if I bring him, I might be able to get away with meeting up with you. But are you okay with sharing," She stated.

_"My dear, you're too kind. I'll be okay. Invite him!"_ Shaking her head, El pulled the phone away from her ear and to her chest.

"Hey Mike, would you like to meet Richie? He's another friend of mine."

"Sure, where are we meeting him?" Mike asked.

"Kissing Bridge," El claimed smirking. She giggled when he raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"Kissing Bridge? They have that here? And he invited you to it?" Mike asked.

"Only to vent to me about his family. He is not into me and I am not his type, trust me," El claimed, smiling at hidden meaning behind it. However, Mike still looked only skeptical, so she tried a different tactic. "Would you like to talk to him while I ask Joyce about meeting up with him?"

"How about, you do that after I finish talking to him?" Mike compromised, pulling El closer to him on the counter. She nodded and put the phone to her ear again.

"Hey, Rich? Mike, my boyfriend, asked to speak with you first, before we decide to go meet up with you," El told the Trashmouth.

_"Did you tell him my nickname? Or did you tell him about the kissing bridge?"_

"Kissing Bridge."

_"Ah, that figures. Well then, put him on!"_

"Here," El said, handing the phone to Mike.

"Hello?"

_¡Hola, novio de mi amigo!"_ Mike then looked confused and El raised an eyebrow. He mouthed 'what' to her and she just chuckled, taking the phone back.

"Hola, señor Trashmouth. Mi novio sólo entiende inglés, tratar de abstenerse de intercambiar el Idioma," El said into the speaker, surprising Mike.

_"¡Mi amor! ¿Era el nerd del teléfono? ¡Pónganlo de nuevo! ¡Juro que no usaré Otro Idioma!"_ Richie responded, and El handed the phone back to Mike.

"If you need any help with the Trashmouth, let me know. Also, see what happens when you call him Loser," She stated, and he just chuckled.

"Alright," Mike put the phone to his ear, "Let's try this again, shall we?" He said into the phone.

_"Take two!"_ Richie stated in agreement. Mike then winked at El.

"Hello, loser," He said confidently.

_"What the fuck, dude! Did El tell you to say that? The little minx."_

"Hey don't call her a minx!" Mike argued.

_"Is that how I get you all riled up? Talking smack about the little Ellie Bean?"_ Richie teased. Mike literally growled at the nickname. El giggled.

"Did he call me Ellie Bean again?" Mike nodded and she continued. "That's Bev's nickname for me, he just picked it up in all good humor. I promise, he means nothing by it." Taking a deep breath, Mike tried again.

"Can we do a take 3?" He asked Richie.

_"Sure! I'll start,"_ the Trashmouth claimed, before dramatically clearing his throat.

_"Hello, I am Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier, I am a dear friend of Jane 'El' Hopper. Am I speaking to Mike, her boyfriend."_ Now Mike was really confused by the fake British accent.

"Uh... yeah, this is Mike," He claimed, scrunching his nose. El giggled, and reached up and poked his nose in adoration. His eyes narrowed on her finger, crossing so that he could see it, and then he smiled sheepishly to her, which was returned with a shy smile. He reached up and pulled her hand away to hold it on the bathroom counter.

_"I was hoping to speak with El, more accurately complain and vent to her, about my family. They were drunk when I got home and quickly became mad at me. Guess that's what happens when your son is a disappointment. Anyway, El is my fourth choice of company and usually understands,"_ Richie explained in his regular voice.

"Yeah, she usually does," Mike claimed, sounding like a-

_"-lovesick puppy dog,"_ Richie stated.

"I do not!" Mike denied. "Anyway, I guess if Mrs. Byers allows it, we can meet you at the Kissing Bridge." El's eyes lit up, and he let her down so she could go ask.

_"Really? Thanks! To be honest, I was worried about you letting me meet her somewhere called the Kissing Bridge,"_ Richie revealed.

"Yeah, I was worried a little bit. I feel better now since you're letting me come with. She also said something about you not being into her, or her not being your type?" Mike questioned, not understanding how El couldn't anyone's type.

_"Yeah...I would feel a lot better with elaborating on that more in person, I don't want to explain over the phone."_ Mike looked over to the bathroom doorway to see El with two thumbs up.

"Well, I'm holding you to that. We can meet up with you," He told the boy on the other side to of the phone. An excited "yay" came from the other side and hung up. Mike did the same on his end, before turning to El. "Well, he is a character." His girlfriend giggled in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Stan, Eddie, and Bill have known him since they were in kindergarten and still haven't figured him out. Believe me, they tried," El told him. Mike walked up to her.

"So Kissing Bridge?" He asked, putting his hands in his shorts pockets.

"Right! We need a knife!" El claimed, running to her room, confusing Mike. He stayed where he was before his girl came running back to him, a pocket knife in hand.

"When did you get that and why do we need it?" He asked her.

"First, its...from Dad's things. Second, you'll see!" El answered, pulling him back to the front door.

"Hey, what are we supposed to do while you guys are off meeting this Richie person?" Dustin asked the couple when they came into sight.

"There's an arcade in town. It's not as big as the Palace Arcade in Hawkins, but it's still there," El answered, pulling her shoes on, while Mike did the same.

"Wait there's an arcade in Derry?" Will asked.

"You have lived here for two years and you didn't know?" Dustin teasingly asked the smaller boy.

"I've been focusing on art, thank you very much!" His adoptive sister giggled, and he smiled in return.

"It's down by the Aladdin, I believe," El explained, and she and Mike were out the door. He got on her bike, and she mounted behind him. Mike pedaled them to the destination, while El was pointing out the directions.


	5. IT's a little Strange (1987) - Part 3

**A/N: What if the Byer's moved to Derry and El got caught up in the mayhem with It? What if her powers came back while they were down in the sewers? El is a Loser in this. All of the Losers are 16.**

* * *

"They made it in record time to the bridge, and Richie was nowhere to be found yet, so El decided to do what she brought the knife for. She beckoned Mike to follow her as she walked down the bridge trying to find an empty space. When she did, she knelt down, pulled out her pocket knife, and began to carve Mike's first initial in the wood, and a dash next to it, before handing the knife to her boyfriend.

"Write my first initial next to the dash, and complete the plus sign," She told him. When he realized what she and he were doing, Mike flushed and complied to her request, carving the 'E' in El next to the dash, and completing the plus sign she started. When he stood back up, Mike was brought into a brief kiss.

"Now do you see why it is called the Kissing Bridge?" El asked her tall boyfriend, who nodded in response.

"HEY LOVEBIRDS!" Came from one end of the bridge, the end they just came from. The couple turned to see the one, the only, Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier walking up to them. "My dear, Ellie Bean, we need to have a talk about you stealing the affections of my wife," Richie claimed once he reached them.

"How long have you been married to Bev?" El simply asked, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms over her chest.

"Uh, since the beginning of the summer, duh," Richie responded.

"Hm, so you stole _my_ wife's affection, as I have been married to Bev for two years," El claimed. At that point, Mike figured out it was all a joke.

"And yet you're cheating on her with this shmuck," Richie declared, gesturing at Mike, who in turn narrowed his eyes. Richie and El had a small staring contest before Richie gave up and they both started laughing at their antics.

"Okay, well I'm Mike Wheeler, El's boyfriend," Mike greeted, putting a hand out there. El's eyes widened. Why'd he put his hand out there willingly? Richie grinned mischievously and reached out to meet it. As soon as their hands met in the shake, a shockwave went through Mike, and Richie fell backward in laughter. El shook her head and sighed. "What the hell?!" Mike cried.

"I'm a fucking comedian! I see a fucking opportunity to make a shitty joke or be mischievous, and I fucking go for it," Richie explained. Mike's eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, there is a reason he is called 'Trashmouth', Mike," El claimed when she saw his expression. Her eyes held much amusement for both of the boys' antics. Mike wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently pulling her to him.

"I probably should've picked that up earlier," He sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Okay, all jokes aside. You two are honestly, fucking adorable," Richie stated as he watched the two interact. "And holy shit! You and I look so much alike!"

"Dude I know, I have eyes."

"And _'all jokes aside,'_ what happened with your parents?" El asked, looking the slightly taller boy in the eye. Richie sighed.

"Well, as soon as I got in the house and shut the front door, a bottle was thrown my way, thanks to Maggie. Then she started saying how I was adopted and shit. Which explains why I look nothing like the assholes. Wentworth then saw my hand, and started yelling at me, which then caused Maggie to scream at me for the same reasons," Richie explained. Mike's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why hasn't anyone done anything?"

"Mike, Joyce is the only parent in Derry to actually care about her kids, adopted or not. Even Mrs. Kaspbarak, Eddie's mom, doesn't really care for him," El explained. Mike's brows became unfurrowed and went up to his hairline in surprise. Richie knelt down and picked up a rock, before throwing it over the edge of the Kissing Bridge's railing before beginning to pace.

"She had him on meds for years and turned him into a fucking germaphobe. When he doesn't do what she wants, she pulls this whole, shitty act of a distressed mother, topped with crocodile tears, and he's back under her manipulating, controlling, fat thumb. We didn't find out until earlier this shitty summer that the medications Eddie was forced to take were just fucking placebos, bullshit, fake. Also, when he has a paper cut, Sonia, his mother, sends him straight to the fucking ER even if there is nothing wrong with him!" Richie ranted, still pacing on the bridge in distress. Walking away from Mike, El reached out and placed a comforting hand on Richie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"beep, beep, Richie," She whispered comfortingly to the resident Trashmouth, who then took in a deep breath and calmed himself down. He looked at the girl behind him and nodded.

"Thanks, El."

"Anytime," She responded, before dropping her hand. "Are you calm now?"

"Yes."

"Are you ready to play street fighter?" El asked him.

"Hell yeah!" Richie cried out in excitement, pumping a fist in the air.

"Wait, what's happening?" Mike, who wasn't in on the conversation as he couldn't hear it, asked.

"We're going to go play Street Fighter at the Derry Arcade. I need to beat up a ninja to let my frustration out," Richie claimed.

"It's better than all the voices he does to cope," El stated. Mike nodded in response before he went over and stood El's bike up, getting on it and allowing her to climb onto the back of it, holding on to his waist, just like in '83. Soon, Richie joined them on his bike and they pedaled off in the direction of Derry's Main Street with a mission of finding the Derry Arcade.


	6. Tell Me A Story

**A/N: The poem, "Tell Me A Story", used for this is my own. Ask before using it yourself, please.**

* * *

_Tell me a story._

_One with love, and action._

_One with humor, and adventure._

_One with horror, and anticipation._

_One that catches my attention._

_Brings me in and leaves me wanting more._

El saw them, standing in the field, surrounding who she thinks is Will, as she can see Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Mrs. Byers, and that girl she knocked over in the gym. Closing her eyes, she puts herself in Will's mind, in the Upside Down. She looks up and sees a shadow, towering over the school. El looked over to where she saw her friends, and the redhead, and saw one of the legs of the shadow encased around Will. That thought, that this monster is doing something bad to Will causes El to drown in anger. Her head lowered, hand slowly raised, her stare intensified on the limb surrounding the boy she saved the previous year, then, she focused.

_Tell me something,_

_About a boy and a girl,_

_A brother and sister._

_Together._

_Against a world of unknowns,_

_Of unknown possibilities._

The shadow that engulfed Will slowly receded, surprising both the monster and Will, who then locked eyes with her, before El used her powers to push him out of the Upside Down. When his presence was gone, she let go of the monster, who hadn't seen her, still hasn't seen her, and closed her eyes. Focusing her mind on the world that _she_ was born into, El sent herself out of the dark, empty, and cold that radiates within the Upside Down. When she re-opened her eyes, she saw herself breathing in the fresh air that came with the more alive world. El returned her gaze over to her friends, and caught the moment Will pointed her out, and everyone turned to her. Her eyes widened, not thinking about how he might tell them. Ready to run, El took a hesitant step back in shock. What stopped her completely, was the look in Mike's eyes when hers fell on them.

_Tell me a poem._

_One full of angst and romance._

_One full of calm and anxious plot._

_Or one without a plot._

_One full of rhymes._

_Of repetition._

His eyes were full of surprise, fear, concern, and most importantly love, which outshone the other emotions within his chocolate colored eyes. Mrs. Byers, Lucas and Dustin also looked surprised, as well as confused. Will was also shocked, but he was coming around a lot sooner, as he had seen her before the others. The girl she knocked over just looked confused.

"Who are you?" The other girl asked. El just stared at her for a moment before bringing her eyes back to Mike's.

"...El?" he softly called in question. She simply nodded, a wet smile forming on her face. El quickly reached up and wiped the blood from her nose. She looked down at the red on her fingers, wanting to look anywhere other than at the people she was hiding from for the past 353 days. She could hear a faint exclamation of '_That's El?'_ in an unfamiliar tone of voice, leading her to believe that was the redhead.

"El? Honey?" El looked up to see them all closer, surprising her slightly, before locking onto the person who was speaking. Joyce. The older woman smiled fondly at her. She heard the noise of someone stepping closer to her, and when she turned, El found herself looking at the boy who kissed her a year ago. When she opened her mouth, only one word made its way softly out.

"Mike."

_Tell me a story._

_Something with plot._

_Rising with the evolution of the hero_

_Falling after the climax._

_Deafening with the fall of the antagonist._

_Tell me something that leaves me at the edge._

Mike pulled her into a tight hug, not wanting to let go. El returned it almost immediately. She closed her eyes and inhaled, taking in his natural scent mixed with his shampoo, a smell that always felt like home to her. His fingers curled into the fabric of her shirt, making his hold seem even tighter, much more protective. The two of them felt complete. However, that didn't last for long.

_Tell me about a group of friends,_

_Who are always there for one another._

_Through thick and thin,_

_Water and fire._

_Fear, hatred, and love._

_Heartbreak and excitement._

"Hey, Wheeler! Quite hogging our Mage!" Dustin called out, interrupting the two. Mike pulled back, reluctantly, and gave the curly haired boy a half-hearted glare. El stepped the rest of the way out of his grasp to hug both Dustin and Lucas at the same time. Then she gave a hug to Joyce, before her attention was pulled to Will.

"Hey, El. I'm Will, although I'm sure you already knew that. Thanks for saving me. _Twice_," Will greeted, holding his hand out to her. El reached out and shook it. After greeting everyone, giving the girl, Max, the cold shoulder, as she is still upset about what she saw in the gym, El stepped away from them.

_Tell me a story,_

_One where with a protagonist,_

_Who is trying to keep their loved ones safe._

_Out of harm's way,_

_Out of the monster's grasp,_

_Claws and flame._

"I...I can't be here," She watched Mike's happy face turn sorrowful.

"W-what? Why not?" He asked.

"Yeah El, why can't you stay?" Dustin asked.

"It-It's not safe," El stated.

"N-Not safe? For who?" Joyce asked.

"Everyone," El answered, regret clear in her tone of voice.

_Tell me something,_

_Something filled with regret,_

_Filled with jealousy,_

_With spite._

_All countered with a calmness,_

_A calmness that reflects a beach breeze._

"How is it not safe?" The other girl, Max, asked. El looked at her, briefly before turning her gaze to her hand, which she just noticed was in Mike's.

"Hard to explain." El pulled her hand out of Mike's and turned to the woods and started walking.

"El, would you like a ride to wherever you're going?" Joyce called out. The girl in question turned and shook her head.

"Not. Safe," She responded determinedly, before returning to the direction she was headed. Once she arrived at the cabin, she lied to Hopper when she told him that no one saw her, and fought with him about not being able to see her friends. That night, which was cold due to the imploded windows, EL cried, and sobbed her heart out, not caring if Hopper heard her or not.

_Tell me a story,_

_One filled with tears,_

_Of both happiness and sadness._

_Tears of anger and joy._

_Tell me a story,_

_One with a happy ending,_

_No matter how many cliffs it hangs over first._


End file.
